Communicating information pertaining to cancelling of forked call requests

ABSTRACT

Multiple instances of an incoming call in a unified communication system capable of communicating through multiple networks are provided to devices and/or applications associated with the called party. Upon acceptance or a global rejection of the incoming call through one of the end devices/applications, the remainder are provided a cancellation notice for the forked call request that includes information associated with which end device took the action, what type of action was taken, whether the action was based on automatic policy implementation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.12/053,100, filed on Mar. 21, 2008, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

As an alternative to Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) systems,cellular phone networks have proliferated over the last decade whereusers with cellular phones have access to one or more networks at almostany location. Also a recent development is the wide spread use of Voiceover IP (VOIP) telephony, which uses internet protocol over wired andwireless networks. With the availability of such diverse types ofcommunication networks and devices capable of taking advantage ofvarious features of these networks, a new technology is bringingdifferent communication networks together providing until nowunavailable functionality such as combining various modes ofcommunication (e.g. instant messaging, voice calls, videocommunications, etc.). This technology is referred to as unifiedcommunications (UC). A network of servers manages end devices capable ofhandling a wide range of functionality and communication whilefacilitating communications between the more modern unifiedcommunication network devices and other networks (e.g. PSTN, cellular,etc.).

In addition to accommodating various modes of communication, modern realtime communication systems such as UC systems can facilitate presenceand routing capabilities, which basically enable a user to place andreceive calls (in any communication form) through a number of enddevices regardless of physical location. For example, a user may definea destination number (identifier), where he/she can be reached atdifferent times or depending on the context of the call, and the systemis capable of routing the call based on the user provided rules.

When a call is made ringing multiple user end devices or applications(i.e. forking) and one of the endpoints answer, the ringing is stoppedat all other stations. This is an example of a situation where a requestis forked, then answered in a station, which results in a cancellationof the forked requests at all other stations. Another example of requestcancellation is when one of the endpoints declines the request globallyresulting in all the other forked requests getting cancelled. Inconventional systems, the endpoints where the call request is cancelledmay not know why the cancellation occurred.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended asan aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Embodiments are directed to conveying additional information associatedwith cancelled call requests to endpoints not receiving the call such asan action which was performed by another endpoint and identity of theuser at that endpoint, and the like. Endpoints may perform specificactions based on the received information such as displaying why theforked call request is cancelled at a particular endpoint.

These and other features and advantages will be apparent from a readingof the following detailed description and a review of the associateddrawings. It is to be understood that both the foregoing generaldescription and the following detailed description are explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of aspects as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example integrated telephony systemarchitecture, where a call may be delivered to multiple end devicessimultaneously;

FIG. 2 illustrates another example integrated telephony system, where acall from a mobile network or a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)may be delivered through a unified communication system (e.g. VOIP) pathto a subscriber's end device;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating delivery of forked requestsfor a call originating from a PSTN and cancellation of the requests uponacceptance of the call by one of the called end devices;

FIG. 4 is an action flow diagram illustrating actions in an integratedtelephony system according to embodiments for cancellation of forkedcall requests with information being provided to endpoints regarding thecancellation;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example call facilitation employing advanced proxylogic in cases where there are multiple forking proxies;

FIG. 6 illustrates a networked environment where embodiments may beimplemented;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example computing operating environment,where embodiments may be implemented; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a logic flow diagram for a process of cancellingforked call requests with information being provided to endpointsaccording to embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As briefly discussed above, forked call requests to multiple end devicesmay be cancelled upon acceptance or global rejection by one of thedevices while the remaining devices are notified as to why thecancellation occurred. In the following detailed description, referencesare made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and inwhich are shown by way of illustrations specific embodiments orexamples. These aspects may be combined, other aspects may be utilized,and structural changes may be made without departing from the spirit orscope of the present disclosure. The following detailed description istherefore not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of thepresent invention is defined by the appended claims and theirequivalents.

While the embodiments will be described in the general context ofprogram modules that execute in conjunction with an application programthat runs on an operating system on a personal computer, those skilledin the art will recognize that aspects may also be implemented incombination with other program modules.

Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, datastructures, and other types of structures that perform particular tasksor implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that embodiments may be practiced with othercomputer system configurations, including hand-held devices,multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.Embodiments may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotememory storage devices.

Embodiments may be implemented as a computer process (method), acomputing system, or as an article of manufacture, such as a computerprogram product or computer readable media. The computer program productmay be a computer storage media readable by a computer system andencoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computerprocess. The computer program product may also be a propagated signal ona carrier readable by a computing system and encoding a computer programof instructions for executing a computer process.

While the term “call” is mainly used in examples throughout thisdocument as referring to voice communications, it is not so limited.“Call” may also be used in reference to video communications, conferencecommunications, instant messaging, and other forms of communicationdiscussed herein in conjunction with estimating endpoint performance.The term “endpoint” is a general term referring to each end device aswell as any server that is directly involved with communications withina unified communication network.

Referring to FIG. 1, diagram 100 of an example integrated telephonysystem architecture, where a call may be delivered to multiple enddevices simultaneously, is illustrated. Cross ringing systems are thosewhere a single call is sent to two or more different systems eitherparallel or serially such that the user is able to take advantage ofdistinct abilities of the systems to answer the call. For example, aVOIP system may provide a number of capabilities not available in a PSTNor cellular phone system. In a unified communication system such assystem 102, client devices/applications allow access to multiple systemsand are able to allow the user to receive the call through the mostappropriate one.

In FIG. 1, end devices 104 and 106 are client devices of the UC system102, which may execute communication applications such a voicecommunication, video communication, and the like. In addition to theiradvanced functionality, the end devices may also facilitate traditionalphone calls through an external connection such as through PBX 118 andPublic Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 120. End devices may includeany type of smart phone, cellular phone, computer application, andadvanced phone devices with additional functionality (e.g. phone 106).

UC server 108 provides registration, presence, and routingfunctionalities. Presence functionality enables the system to routecalls to a user to anyone of the client devices assigned to the userbased on default and/or user set policies. For example, if the user isnot available through a regular phone, the call may be forwarded to theuser's cellular phone, and if that is not answering a number ofvoicemail options may be utilized. Since the end devices can handleadditional communication modes, UC server 108 is configured to provideaccess to these additional communication modes (e.g. instant messaging,video communication, etc.) through access server 110. Access server 110resides in a perimeter network and enables connectivity through network116 with other users in one of the additional communication modes.

Audio/Video (A/V) conferencing server 114 provides audio and/or videoconferencing capabilities by facilitating those over an internal orexternal network. Mediation server 112 mediates signaling and media toand from the PBX 118. Mediation server 112 may also act as a SessionInitiation Protocol (SIP) user agent (e.g. Business-To-Business UserAgent “B2BUA”). PBX 118 includes a PBX controller and associatedtraditional phone devices. PBX 118 facilitates receipt and originationof calls through PSTN 120, which is typically a combination of networksmanaged by a number of providers.

In a system according to embodiments, users are enabled to share thesame identity in both communication systems. The address for the sharedidentity is used in inbound and outgoing calls. Therefore, the existenceof two telephony systems is transparent for other users who interactwith the user of the integrated telephony systems. The shared identityis not necessarily limited to a phone number. The identity may take anyform depending on the integrated networks, such as a telephone number, aSIP Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), or any other identifier.Furthermore, the shared identity may be in more than one format. Forexample, it may include a phone number and a SIP URI (using an alias).The phone number is used throughout this text as example for integratednetworks that include a PSTN compatible network, but embodiments are notlimited to phone numbers of any particular type of shared identity.

In one example scenario, a user may be part of UC system 102 as well asPBX system 118 being able to receive calls through a variety of enddevices. When a call comes in to the user's Direct Inward Dial (DID)number, the call is sent (or forked) to both UC system 102 and the PBX118. A UC client operating end devices registered to the user receives aVOIP Call from UC server 108. In the same instance, UC server 108 ismonitoring the PBX 118 for incoming calls to the PBX phone 119. Thus,the UC client also gets a Remote Call Control (RCC) notification of anincoming call. Effectively, the UC client has “two” rings and the useris able to answer the call through the PBX phone 119 through any of theend devices 104 controlled by the UC client (VOIP call).

FIG. 2 illustrates another example integrated telephony system, where acall from a mobile network or a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)may be delivered through a unified communication system (e.g. VOIP) pathto a subscriber's end device. Example integrated system 200 includes UCN202 facilitating communications for its end devices 222, 224, 226, andany communication applications executed on these devices as describedabove. Calls may originate within UCN 202, from external mobile network230, or from PSTN 220. Mobile network 230 may be any wirelesscommunication network such as a cellular network and include othercomponents such as transceiver 232 (e.g. cell tower). PBX system 218facilitates communications between UCN 202 and PSTN 220.

To illustrate the variety of communication systems that may beintegrated employing various embodiments, PBX 218 may adhere to SessionInitiation Protocol (SIP). The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is anapplication-layer control (signaling) protocol for creating, modifying,and terminating sessions with one or more participants. It can be usedto create two-party, multiparty, or multicast sessions that includeInternet telephone calls, multimedia distribution, and multimediaconferences. SIP is designed to be independent of the underlyingtransport layer.

SIP clients use Transport Control Protocol (“TCP”) or User DatagramProtocol (“UDP”) to connect to SIP servers and other SIP endpoints. SIPis primarily used in setting up and tearing down voice or video calls.However, it can be used in any application where session initiation is arequirement. These include event subscription and notification, terminalmobility, and so on. Voice and/or video communications are typicallydone over separate session protocols, typically Real Time Protocol(“RTP”).

SIP is intended to provide a signaling and call setup protocol forIP-based communications that can support a superset of the callprocessing functions and features present in the PSTN. SIP by itselfdoes not define these features, however. Rather, its focus is call-setupand signaling. SIP is also designed to enable the building of suchfeatures in network elements known as proxy servers and user agents.These are features that permit familiar telephone-like operations:dialing a number, causing a phone to ring, hearing ring back tones or abusy signal.

SIP-enabled telephony networks can also implement many of the moreadvanced call processing features. SIP is a client/server protocol thatenables peer-to-peer connectivity because each side can function as aclient and a server at the same time. As such it requires a relativelysimple core network with intelligence distributed to the network edge,embedded in endpoints (end devices built in either hardware orsoftware). SIP features are implemented in the communicating endpoints(i.e. at the edge of the network) as opposed to being implemented in thenetwork. While some example systems are described with SIP features,many other VOIP protocols exist and embodiments may be implemented withany of those protocols using the principles described herein.

In the example system 200 of FIG. 2 UCN 202 includes UC end devices 222,224, and 226 managed by UC server(s) 208. Access server 210, A/Vconference server 214, and mediation server 212 are example endpoints(in addition to the end devices) that operate as described above inconjunction with FIG. 1. Optional PBX system 218 includes a PBXcontroller and PBX end devices (219) that facilitate communicationsthrough PSTN 220. UCN 202 may also support UC server(s) that connect toa Time Division Multiplex (“TDM”) PBX through mediation server 212. Thesystem(s) may also include a number of gateways (e.g. basic or advancedgateways) for facilitating mediation functionalities. As mentionedabove, PBX 218 may also be a SIP PBX in which case the UCN 202 maysupport SIP and/or RTP based communication.

According to one scenario, a call originating from the mobile network230 or PSTN 220 may be translated into multiple forked call requests forthe called user by the UCN 202. The requests are forwarded to enddevices and applications associated with the called user. These mayinclude a desktop phone, a handheld phone, an assistant's phone, and thelike. The user may accept the call at one of those devices or reject thecall globally meaning he/she does not want the call answered by any ofthe endpoints associated with the user. Upon receiving the user'sresponse, the UC server(s) 208 may send cancellation notices to theremaining endpoints. In a system according to embodiments, thecancellation notices may be complemented with additional informationassociated with the cancellation such as which device accepted the call,whether the call was accepted or globally rejected, etc. That way, otherend devices and application are enabled to take further actionsassociated with the call. For example, a recording application mayrecord the time and origin of the call for a report to the user.

While the example systems in FIGS. 1 and 2 have been described withspecific components such as mediation server, A/V server, and the like,embodiments are not limited to these components or system configurationsand can be implemented with other system configuration employing feweror additional components. Functionality of the systems enablingcancellation of forked call requests with additional information mayalso be distributed among the components of the systems differentlydepending on component capabilities and system configurations.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating delivery of forked requestsfor a call originating from a PSTN and cancellation of the requests uponacceptance of the call by one of the called end devices.

According to the example scenario illustrated in diagram 300, a call isoriginated (as shown by arrow 1) from PSTN phone 342 for a subscriber ofUCN 316. The subscriber may have multiple end devices associated withhim/her such as end devices 322, 324, 326. There may also be multiplecommunication applications executed on one or more of those end devices(video conferencing application, phone communication application, etc.).When the call reaches UC server 308, the server issues forked callrequests (arrows 1 to the end devices) to all end devices andapplications according to a rule defined by the subscriber. Thesubscriber may define rules for forwarding and simultaneous ringing ofvarious end devices including voice mail applications etc. based on timeof day, caller identification, a context of the call, and so on.

The subscriber or one of his/her designees may accept the call at one ofthe end devices (e.g. end device 326) sending an acknowledgment noticeto the server (arrow 2), upon which the server accepts the connects thecall between phone 342 and end device 326 (arrow 2) while sendingcancellation notices to end devices 322 and 324 (arrows 3). In a systemaccording to embodiments, the cancellation notices may also provideadditional information such as the identity of end device 326 andwhether the call was accepted or globally rejected, so that the otherend devices can inform user(s) about the cancelled request and whathappened to the call.

FIG. 4 is an action flow diagram illustrating actions in an integratedtelephony system according to embodiments for cancellation of forkedcall requests with information being provided to endpoints regarding thecancellation. The additional information such as the action which wasperformed by another endpoint, identity of a user at that station, atype of action (e.g. accepting the call, globally rejecting the call,deflecting the call to another endpoint/system, etc.), and so on may beconveyed to all other endpoints receiving the forked request. Theselatter stations may receive this information and perform a specificaction or render it as needed to the end user.

In the example scenario illustrated by the action flow diagram, the callis originated by a subscriber of the UC system as opposed to a callerfrom an external network such as a PSTN or a mobile network. However,the same principles may be applied to any call originated through anynetwork. When caller 1 (452) initiates the call through his/her enddevice or application to caller 2, an INVITE request is sent (461) tothe UC server 454 with which the called party (caller 2) is registered.The UC server 454 then inspects the called party's preference regardingthe endpoints which should ring including end devices and applicationsregistered with caller 2, as well as endpoints registered by other userswhom the caller 2 has delegated/assigned for handling his/her calls.Once the server has the list of all endpoints, it proxies/forwards theINVITE request (462, 464) to all those endpoints (e.g. 456, 458) andwaits for an acceptance from one of them. In the meantime, a tryingnotice may be sent back to the calling party (462).

Each of these endpoints receives this request and creates a usernotification (ringing sound, pop-up menu, etc.) to alert the user of anincoming call. As soon as one of the endpoints (e.g. caller 2-client 1)answers the request with a final response like acceptance (465) or aglobal decline. The accept notice from client 1 of caller 2 is forwardedto caller 1 by UC server 454. At the same time, a cancel notice is sent(466) to other endpoints that received the forked call request (e.g.client 2 of caller 2). The cancel notice may be followed by a requestterminated confirmation (468) from the other endpoints and anacknowledgment response (469) to that. The exchanged messages 466, 468,and 469 may be collectively referred to as the cancellation process(470).

The cancel notice 466 may include additional information as listedabove, which may be useful for notifying users or recording eventsassociated with the communication system. The additional information maybe provided through SIP headers in a system using SIP. For example, theidentity of the user may be included in the header as SIP URI (or TELURI), a type of action (e.g. accept or decline the call) may be insertedas a parameter into the header, and if the action was based due toimplementation of an automatic policy without user interaction (e.g. DoNot Disturb or Blocked Call mode rejections) the involved policy mayalso be identified as a parameter in the header.

While the reason for the action (acceptance or rejection) may bespecified along with the identity of the user taking the action in thecancellation notice, some users may prefer not to have their identityprovided to the users on the other end devices. In such cases, theprivacy of the user taking the action may be protected by blocking theidentity based on local policy or user intervention. For example, if asubscriber accepts a call through his mobile phone, that information maybe blocked by local policy. However, if the same subscriber accepts thecall through a desktop communication device, the information may beprovided to the other end devices/applications receiving forked requestsassociated with the call. As mentioned previously, the call may also bedeflected by the subscriber to another device or system, which isanother action type. The information associated with the cancel noticemay also be stored in call history in addition to being provided toother endpoints.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example call facilitation employing advanced proxylogic in cases where there are multiple forking proxies. According tothe illustrated example scenario, a caller (571) may be the callingclient SIP UA. T1 (573) and T2 (576) may be team members of SIP UA. C1(577) and C2 (578) may be other SIP UA clients.

As shown in the diagram, an INVITE from caller 571 is forked by forkingproxy 1 (572) to T1 (573), T2 (576), and forking proxy 2 574). Thesecondary INVITE's from forking proxy 1 (572) are secondary in timelinecompared to the initial INVITE from caller 571. Forking proxy 2 (574)then forks this call further to C1 (577) and C2 (578) (tertiary INVITEsin timeline. Next, both C2 and T2 return 200 OK messages accepting thecall. But before forking proxy 1 (572) has a chance to cancel the forkto forking proxy 2 (574), forking proxy 2 proxies the 200 OK back toforking proxy 1 (572). This is referred to as a race between the 200 OKand the CANCEL messages (between forking proxy 1 and forking proxy 2) asthey cross each other.

In the above case, the caller's SIP UA is expected to accept one of theINVITEs for which it received 200 OK, while not accepting the other andthe caller's SIP UA could make this decision in any random order oraccording to a predefined algorithm. This may results in a problembecause the cancelled SIP UA's (T1, C1 need to know who picked up thecall (in real time). To address this potential problem, forking proxiesmay maintain some minimal dialog state for a small period of time tocheck if the INVITE session (for which a 200 OK arrived) is going to beterminated immediately. After that, the forking proxy may send outCANCELs on the resulting forks. When caller's SIP UA chooses to acceptone INVITE dialog and decides to send a termination message (e.g. BYE)to the others, the caller's SIP UA may include (e.g. in a special SIPheader) the called party identity of the accepted session (for which thetermination message was not sent). The forking proxies, after waitingfor the period of time, may now be able to determine which 200 OK wasaccepted and which one was terminated. This information may then be usedto CANCEL the remaining forks. If the CANCEL again races with another200 OK, the caller's SIP UA may be responsible to initiate a terminationmessage to the answered party with the message providing the special SIPheader indicating that the call was already answered by some other SIPUA.

Another approach for addressing the race condition is instead of usingCANCEL (and/or BYE) to indicate who answered the call, using anout-of-dialog NOTIFY (or SERVICE request or any appropriate SIP message)to indicate who answered the call. This may occur a little while afterthe CANCEL arrives. This could only be possible if T1, T2, C1, and C2have early dialogs established with the caller's SIP UA. The caller'sSIP UA when picking one 200 OK over the other may send an unsolicitedNOTIFY to the remote target URI of each fork, also including atarget-dialog header with the corresponding early dialog identifier. Inaddition, the message may include the special header containing theidentity of the accepted session.

In above references to using a new SIP header to carry identity, one maydecide to reuse the SIP Reason header with an extension parameter‘accepted-by’ that carries the SIP identity of the client who acceptedthe call including a cause of 200 OK. The SIP identity may be gatheredby the caller's SIP user agent by using the P-Asserted-Identity sent inthe 200 OK response from the callee's SIP user agent.

The operations and approaches, as well as components of the integratedtelephony systems, described in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 are exemplary forillustration purposes. An integrated telephony system providingcancellation of forked call requests with additional information may beimplemented using additional or fewer components and other schemes usingthe principles described herein.

FIG. 6 is an example networked environment, where embodiments may beimplemented. A unified communication system such as those describedpreviously may be implemented locally or in a distributed manner over anumber of physical and virtual clients and servers. Such a system maytypically involve at least two distinct networks such as PSTN 692,Mobile Network 694, and UCN 680. At least one of the systems may beimplemented in un-clustered systems or clustered systems employing anumber of nodes communicating over one or more networks.

A system according to embodiments may comprise any topology of servers,clients, Internet service providers, and communication media. Also, thesystem may have a static or dynamic topology. The term “client” mayrefer to a client application or a client device. While an integratedtelephony system employing call notification merging may involve manymore components, typical and relevant ones are discussed in conjunctionwith this figure.

A more advanced digital telephony system such as a unified communicationsystem employing forked call cancellation with additional informationmay reside side-by-side with mobile networks, public switched networks,etc. and communicate through those networks with the help of PBXsystems, gateways, and so on. Mediation server(s) 684 may providesignaling and media exchange between the two systems. The UC system mayalso include a UC server (not shown) for registering, routing, and otherfunctionality. Data associated with the system configuration (e.g. usernames, phone numbers, call policies, configuration, records, etc.) maybe stored in one or more data stores such as data stores 686, which maybe directly accessed by the servers and/or clients of the system ormanaged through a database server 685. The backbone of the UC system maybe provided by a UC network (UCN) 680, which may employ a number ofprotocols such as SIP, RTP, and the like. Client devices (e.g. 681-683)provide platforms for UCN user end points. Users may access thecommunication system using a client device or one or more clientapplications running on a client device.

UCN 680 may include a secure network such as an enterprise network, anunsecure network such as a wireless open network, or the Internet. UCN680 provides communication between the nodes described herein. By way ofexample, and not limitation, UCN 680 may include wired media such as awired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such asacoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

Many other configurations of computing devices, applications, datasources, data distribution systems may be employed to implement acancellation of forked call requests. Furthermore, the networkedenvironments discussed in FIG. 7 are for illustration purposes only.Embodiments are not limited to the example applications, modules, orprocesses.

FIG. 7 and the associated discussion are intended to provide a brief,general description of a suitable computing environment in whichembodiments may be implemented. With reference to FIG. 7, a blockdiagram of an example computing operating environment is illustrated,such as computing device 700. In a basic configuration, the computingdevice 700 may be a server executing a UC client application formanaging end devices registered with one or more users. Computing device700 may typically include at least one processing unit 702 and systemmemory 704. Computing device 700 may also include a plurality ofprocessing units that cooperate in executing programs. Depending on theexact configuration and type of computing device, the system memory 704may be volatile (such as RAM), non-volatile (such as ROM, flash memory,etc.) or some combination of the two. System memory 704 typicallyincludes an operating system 705 suitable for controlling the operationof the computing device, such as the WINDOWS® operating systems fromMICROSOFT CORPORATION of Redmond, Wash. The system memory 704 may alsoinclude one or more software applications such as program modules 706and UC application 722.

UC application 722 may be a separate application or an integral moduleof a hosted service application that provides advanced communicationservices through computing device 700. As discussed above, UCapplication 722 may coordinate notification of incoming calls fromvarious sources, provide forked call requests, facilitate the call uponacceptance by one of the endpoints, and provide cancellation notices toother endpoints with information about the call cancellation.

UC application 722 may also provide advanced functionalities of the UCsystem to the user such as those associated with other forms ofcommunication (video, instant messaging, etc.). This basic configurationis illustrated in FIG. 7 by those components within dashed line 708.

The computing device 700 may have additional features or functionality.For example, the computing device 700 may also include additional datastorage devices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example,magnetic disks, optical disks, or tape. Such additional storage isillustrated in FIG. 7 by removable storage 709 and non-removable storage710. Computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile,removable and non-removable media implemented in any method ortechnology for storage of information, such as computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Systemmemory 704, removable storage 709 and non-removable storage 710 are allexamples of computer storage media. Computer storage media includes, butis not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other opticalstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used tostore the desired information and which can be accessed by computingdevice 700. Any such computer storage media may be part of device 700.Computing device 700 may also have input device(s) 712 such as keyboard,mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc. Outputdevice(s) 714 such as a display, speakers, printer, etc. may also beincluded. These devices are well known in the art and need not bediscussed at length here.

The computing device 700 may also contain communication connections 716that allow the device to communicate with other computing devices 718,such as over a wireless network in a distributed computing environment,for example, an intranet or the Internet. Other computing devices 718may include client devices of a UC network as discussed above.Communication connection 716 is one example of communication media.Communication media may typically be embodied by computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in amodulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism, and includes any information delivery media. The term“modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of itscharacteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode informationin the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communicationmedia includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wiredconnection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and otherwireless media.

The claimed subject matter also includes methods. These methods can beimplemented in any number of ways, including the structures described inthis document. One such way is by machine operations, of devices of thetype described in this document.

Another optional way is for one or more of the individual operations ofthe methods to be performed in conjunction with one or more humanoperators performing some. These human operators need not be collocatedwith each other, but each can be only with a machine that performs aportion of the program.

FIG. 8 illustrates a logic flow diagram for process 800 of cancellingforked call requests with information being provided to endpointsaccording to embodiments. Process 800 may be implemented in a UCapplication managing multiple end devices for a user in a UC system.

Process 800 begins with operation 802, where a call request for asubscriber is received from a caller from within or outside of the UCnetwork such as a PSTN call or a mobile call. Processing advances fromoperation 802 to operation 804.

In response to receiving the call request, the UC server issues aplurality of INVITEs to any end devices and/or applications indicated bythe subscriber's call receiving policy. A subscriber may request callsto be forwarded to multiple destinations (devices, applications) basedon the time of day, day of week, context of call, identity of theoriginating caller, and so on. Processing moves from operation 804 tooperation 806.

At operation 806, one of the INVITEs is accepted by one of the enddevices or applications. Alternatively, the subscriber may respond witha global rejection indicating a desire not to have the call accepted byany of the endpoints. Processing proceeds to operation 808 fromoperation 806.

At operation 808, a cancellation notice is transmitted by the UC serverto the remaining endpoints. Along with the cancellation notice, the UCserver may provide information associated with identity of the userperforming the action, type of action (e.g. acceptance, rejection), andpolicy information if automatic policy based action was performedwithout any user interaction e.g. automatic decline because user is inDo Not Disturb mode). Processing moves from operation 808 to optionaloperation 810, where the call is connected to the accepting enddevice/application, if the response was an acceptance.

The operations included in process 800 are for illustration purposes.Providing cancellation notices with information about the cancellationof a forked call request may be implemented by similar processes withfewer or additional steps, as well as in different order of operationsusing the principles described herein.

The above specification, examples and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the composition of theembodiments. Although the subject matter has been described in languagespecific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to beunderstood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims and embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computing device for executing a UnifiedCommunication (UC) application facilitating multi-modal communicationsbetween endpoints registered with the UC application and callers fromexternal networks, the computing device comprising: a memory device; anda processor coupled to the memory device, the processor arranged toexecute the UC application, wherein the processor is configured to:receive a call request for a subscriber of the UC system; determineendpoints designated for notification of incoming call requests for thesubscriber from one of a default rule and a user-defined rule associatedwith the subscriber; transmit a call request notification to thedetermined endpoints; receive a response to the call request from one ofthe endpoints; transmit a cancellation notification to the endpointsother than the endpoint transmitting the response, wherein thecancellation notification comprises information regarding a cancellationof the call request and additional information, the additionalinformation being inserted as a parameter in a UC network protocolheader and comprising a type of action associated with the call request;and facilitate the call if the response is an acceptance.
 2. Thecomputing device of claim 1, wherein the response is one of: anacceptance, a global rejection, and a deflection, and wherein theresponse is based on one of: a predefined policy and a subscriber input.3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the cancellationnotification is transmitted employing SIP and the information includedin the cancellation notification is inserted as a SIP header.
 4. Thecomputing device of claim 1, wherein at least one of: the identity ofthe user providing the response, the identifier of the endpointproviding the response, the type of the response, and the policyassociated with the response is blocked from being transmitted with thecancellation based on one of: a subscriber input and a local policy. 5.The computing device of claim 1, wherein the cancellation notificationis stored in a call history record.
 6. The computing device of claim 1,wherein the endpoints designated for notification of incoming callrequests include at least one from a set of: a physical communicationdevice, a communication application executed on a physical device, and avoicemail application.
 7. A method of executing a Unified Communication(UC) application facilitating multi-modal communications betweenendpoints registered with the UC application and callers from externalnetworks, comprising: receiving, by a computing device comprising amemory device and a processor, a call request for a subscriber of the UCsystem; determining, by the computing device, endpoints designated fornotification of incoming call requests for the subscriber from one of adefault rule and a user-defined rule associated with the subscriber;transmitting, by the computing device, a call request notification tothe determined endpoints; receiving, by the computing device, a responseto the call request from one of the endpoints; transmitting, by thecomputing device, a cancellation notification to the endpoints otherthan the endpoint transmitting the response, the cancellationnotification comprising information regarding a cancellation of the callrequest and additional information, the additional information beinginserted as a parameter in a UC network protocol header and comprising atype of action associated with the call request; and facilitating, bythe computing device, the call if the response is an acceptance.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein receiving, by the computing device, aresponse to the call request from one of the endpoints comprisesreceiving one of: an acceptance, a global rejection, and a deflection,wherein the response is based on one of: a predefined policy and asubscriber input.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein transmitting, by thecomputing device, a cancellation notification to the endpoints otherthan the endpoint transmitting the response comprises transmitting thecancellation notification by employing SIP, the information included inthe cancellation notification being inserted as a SIP header.
 10. Themethod of claim 7, further comprising blocking the transmission of theidentity of the user providing the response with the cancellation basedon one of: a subscriber input and a local policy.
 11. The method ofclaim 7, further comprising blocking the transmission of the identifierof the endpoint providing the response with the cancellation based onone of: a subscriber input and a local policy.
 12. The method of claim7, further comprising blocking the transmission of the type of responsewith the cancellation based on one of: a subscriber input and a localpolicy.
 13. The method of claim 7, further comprising blocking thepolicy associated with the response from being transmitted with thecancellation based on one of: a subscriber input and a local policy. 14.The method of claim 7, further comprising storing the cancellationnotification in a call history record.
 15. The method of claim 7,wherein determining, by the computing device, endpoints designated fornotification of incoming call requests for the subscriber from one of adefault rule and a user-defined rule associated with the subscribercomprises determining at least one of from a set comprising: a physicalcommunication device, a communication application executed on a physicaldevice, and a voicemail application.
 16. A computer-readable storagedevice storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed bya computer, will cause the computer to perform a method of executing aUnified Communication (UC) application facilitating multi-modalcommunications between endpoints registered with the UC application andcallers from external networks, the method comprising: receiving a callrequest for a subscriber of the UC system; determining endpointsdesignated for notification of incoming call requests for the subscriberfrom one of a default rule and a user-defined rule associated with thesubscriber; transmitting a call request notification to the determinedendpoints; receiving a response to the call request from one of theendpoints; transmitting a cancellation notification to the endpointsother than the endpoint transmitting the response, wherein thecancellation notification comprises information regarding a cancellationof the call request and additional information, the additionalinformation being inserted as a parameter in a UC network protocolheader and comprising a type of action associated with the call request;and facilitating the call if the response is an acceptance.
 17. Thecomputer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the response isone of: an acceptance, a global rejection, and a deflection, and whereinthe response is based on one of: a predefined policy and a subscriberinput.
 18. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein atleast one of: the identity of the user providing the response, theidentifier of the endpoint providing the response, the type of theresponse, and the policy associated with the response is blocked frombeing transmitted with the cancellation based on one of: a subscriberinput and a local policy.
 19. The computer-readable storage device ofclaim 16, wherein the cancellation notification is stored in a callhistory record.
 20. The computer-readable storage device claim 16,wherein the endpoints designated for notification of incoming callrequests include at least one from a set of: a physical communicationdevice, a communication application executed on a physical device, and avoicemail application.